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"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela."He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb."Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights."When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". - David Cameron.

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Statement of Intent on changes to knowledge of language and life in the UK from 2013 has been mirrored

I thought it was worth making an easy-to-find copy of this upcoming change.

The statement of intent says :'Individuals wishing to apply for indefinite leave to remain (referred to hereafter as settlement) or naturalisation as British citizens (referred to hereafter as naturalisation) are required to demonstrate their knowledge of language and life in the UK (the KoLL requirement).'

A few points here :

1/ There is confusion because the term 'settlement' is used in two different ways in an immigration context.

'Settlement' can mean permanent status in the country, i.e. either ILR (indefinite leave to remain) or citizenship (naturalisation). But a 'settlement visa' can also be used to refer to a visa which is temporary but which is part of the accepted path for permanent status, such as a fiance visa.

As the paragraph above says, this rule change applies to those applying for ILR or citizenship - not fiance or spousal or any other type of non-permanent visa, even those which lead up to a permanent status.

I've seen several misunderstandings in my interactions with people affected, and it's really a poor show by the government not to use 'plain English'

2/ Previously, nationals of non-English speaking countries needed to get either the requisite grade from an approved language test, or to pass Life in the UK. Now they are required to pass both. Nationals of English-speaking countries still need to pass the Life in the UK test.